Cologne • International Furniture Fair

imm Cologne has the distinction of not only being the first furniture fair of the year, but one of the biggest. The ideal venue for Northern European companies to present their latest creations, imm also boasts one of the most international displays of furniture design anywhere. - Josephine Minutillo

A designer’s legacy
Designed by the late Maarten Van Severen (and carried through by his former assistant), Pastoe’s introduction of a leather lounge chair was quite the surprise. The chair features a one-sided mounted armrest and a cross-stitched leather cover that is screwed to the stainless steel frame. Pastoe, Utrecht, The Netherlands. www.pastoe.nl

[Reader Service: April 2007 #201]

Lava flow
The team behind Studio Vertijet, Kirsten Antje Hoppert and Steffen Kroll, designed the Lava sofa for Cor. Featuring an amorphous, flowing form, Lava includes a range of transforming elements, including one that overlaps the seat of the sofa to spread onto the floor. Cor, Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany. www.cor.de

[Reader Service: April 2007 #202]

Updated classics
Thonet’s classic bentwood chairs were recently treated to a face-lift. The Viennese Coffee House Chair, or Chair no. 214, is now available with an airy, mesh-fabric seat in addition to the original woven-cane seat, and in upholstered versions in a variety of colors. Thonet, Frankenberg, Germany. www.thonet.de

[Reader Service: April 2007 #203]

Finnished floors
Textile designer Hanna Korvela’s most recent introduction is Aqua, a resilient indoor/outdoor rug. Unlike most water-resistant rugs, Aqua has a soft look that is suitable for residential use and in spas for sauna and pool areas. Hanna Korvela Design, Kuopio, Finland. www.hannakorveladesign.fi

[Reader Service: April 2007 #204]

Log on
As one half of imm’s Ideal House exhibitors alongside Zaha Hadid, Naoto Fukasawa played a major role at this year’s fair. Resembling a fallen tree, his distinctive Log series in oak veneer features low, hollow benches, both long and short, and a vertical stool that doubles as a table. Swedese, Vaggeryd, Sweden. www.swedese.com

[Reader Service: April 2007 #205]

Josephine Minutillo is editor in chief of Architectural Record. Trained as an architect, she began writing for RECORD in 2001 while practicing architecture, and has held several positions at the magazine over the past two decades. Her articles have appeared in many international publications. She has been an invited critic at Washington University in St. Louis, The Cooper Union, Columbia GSAPP, Pratt Institute, The City College of New York, and Yale University.
Instagram: @josephineminutillo_